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RED TASSELS FOR HUKI 




They made tassels and hung three long ones in both 
of Huki^s ears 



TflSStLS rail 

IN PERU 

By 

ANNA ANDREWS BARRIS 



Pictured by 

IRIS BEATTY JOHNSON 


JUNIOR PRESS BOOKS 


ALBERfX^HITMAN 

ico 

CHICAGO 

1939 






FZlio 


•3 



Going into Cuzco down a narrow street 




To 

Lorraine 
Elizabeth 
Jimmy, and Jack 


Copyright, 1939, by Albert Whitman & Company 
Lithographed in the V.SiA. 


1 32783 


OCT 23 iy39 





















Chapter I 
ON THE TRAIL 


H igh up in the mountains of Peru lived a little 
white llama named Huki. He was a little four- 
year-old llama who had made up his mind that 
never, never would he grow up. One cold, sunny morn¬ 
ing when the mountain peaks were still rosy with the 
sunrise his Quichua Indian master, Huamhra, began load¬ 
ing great bags of fleece on the backs of the male llamas. 


5 



He tied them on with stout ropes of wool. Huamhra and 
his Indian helpers were taking the fleece forty miles down 
the mountains to the market at the city of Cuzco. Here 
it would be sold and woven into blankets, rugs, and 
clothing. 

Much had happened in the last few days. Yesterday, 
Huamhra bad taken a sharp knife and had pierced the 
ears of every male llama that was four years old. Though 
this hurt very much, Huki did not grunt, as Chupi and 
Tico and some of the others had done. 

Yesterday had also been shearing time. The male 
llamas are never sheared. They are used as pack animals, 
so they must have their wool for a pad on their backs. 

But once a year the female llamas are sheared. So 
after piercing the ears of bis four^year-olds, Huamhra and 
his helpers had driven Huki's mother and the other females, 
into a clean corral. With long knives the men cut off all the 
nice, silky wool, except a tuft under each llama's chin. 
This was left on to make them look pretty. But it really 
made the llamas look like funny old men with beards. 

When everything was ready, Huki and his nineteen com¬ 
panions were hustled out of their corral and were started 
slowly down the Cuzco trail. They were joining the pack 
train of dark-eyed llamas with red tassels in their ears. 


6 



Huki and his companions were started slowly down 
the Cuzco trail 



The clear, frosty air made Huki feel very happy and 
frisky. But the other young llamas were walking along very 
sedately. They were not jumping and kicking up their heels 
the way he was doing. He knew why. It was because they 
were with the pack animals and were pretending to be quite 
grown up. 

It was all Huki could do not to put down his head and 
give that fat Chupi a good hard butt. Huambra, his Indian 
master, was laughing at his antics. But Huambra might not 
laugh if he butted Chupi. His master loved him, as he loved 
all his llamas. He had never spoken a cross word to Huki. 
But Huki remembered bow he had seen Huambra shake his 
stick and shout angrily at another young llama. So he did 
not step out of line. 

For a while Huki’s little hoofs came down on the frozen 
ground as primly as those of his young companions. But 
soon he was frisking again. He would run out from the trail, 
bite off a tuft of coarse ychu grass which is the chief food of 
all llamas, then kick up his heels and come racing back to 
the line. 

In the pack train Huki liked to hear the plop, plop of 
the llamas' hoofs and the tinkle of the two shiny bells on 
the neck of Chicopo, the large brown llama leading the pack 
animals. The Indian drivers were shouting, “Vamos! 


8 



He would vun out fvow the tvoM und bite off ct tuft 
of coarse ychu grass 



Vamos!” as they whirled their long ropes. A little brown 
baby peeked out of the red, hood-like blanket on his mother’s 
back and laughed and gurgled joyfully. Men and women 
were chatting and laughing. Huambra had taken out his 
quena, a reed flute, and was playing sweet music. Huki was 
having such a glorious time that everyone with the pack 
train laughed and laughed at the comical way he frisked and 
carried on. 

Later in the day he became quieter. He was worried, for 
he had never been anywhere before. Why did Huambra 
pierce his ears yesterday, and why was he going along 
with the other young llamas in Huambra’s care? Last year 
Huambra and the young llamas went to a llama^marking 
fiesta and when they returned, every llama had a red tassel 
in his ears and a pack on his back! 

Well, they were going to a llama-marking fiesta again 
this year. Huki would not let them put tassels in his ears 
and a pack on his back. He did not want to grow up. He 
decided that he would run away. He would run so far that 
no one could ever find him. But it would be foolish to try 
to run away this minute. Huambra and his men would 
chase after him and bring him back to the pack train. He 
would wait until no one was looking. 

He did not have a chance to run away until the next day. 


10 



when something very exciting happened. More Indians had 
come out on the hroad trail with their pack animals and 
young llamas, until now there was a vast throng on its way 
to the market and to the great fiesta. 

Every Indian was in his holiday clothes. Huambra and 
the other men had new red, yellow, or green ponchos, or 
blankets, around their shoulders. Under their straw hats 
were gay, knitted wool caps with long earflaps. The women 
walked proudly along in their pancake hats, their very full 
skirts, their woolen waists and their bright shawls. Many 
carried babies on their backs. The babies were snuggled in 
hood-like blankets. 


11 






Twice the pack train stopped to rest. While the llamas 
were grazing on the coarse ychu grass, which is so plentiful 
in the highlands of Peru, the Indian women stuffed potatoes 
with goat cheese and boiled them over an open fire. 

That night they slept on the side of the mountain, the 
llamas arranging themselves as always in a large circle, facing 
outward. 

The next day they climbed higher and higher, until in 
the afternoon, they were over the divide. Down below them 
was the city of Cuzco. It was a city of light blue, pink, and 
white stone houses with red tiled roofs, parks and a great 
cathedral. 


12 








Huki stared and stared. He had seen only low mud huts 
before. These were always in small villages. Huambra and 
the other Indians raised their right hands and gave the city 
a salute. This city was once the capital of their ancient Inca 
Empire and the Quichua Indians still thought of it as sacred. 


13 









Down the mountain they went, passing the ruins of 
palaces and temples, the Temple of the Sun, where long ago, 
in its beautiful garden were trees and animals of gold. Then 
they came to the rebuilt part of the city, going through the 
plaza in front of the cathedral and down a narrow street. 

An old Indian, wearing a torn red poncho and carrying 
on his back a very large bag of fleece, called, “Huambra! 
Huambra! The saints will bless you if you take my bag to 
the market. I am sick, Huambra. The saints will bless you 
if you take my bag!” 

Huambra, feeling very sorry for his old friend, said, 
“Si, si —yes, yes. I’ll take it, Poopo. Sejama here does not 
have a heavy load. He will carry it for you.” 

"'Gracias I Gracias !—Thank you I Thank you I” Poopo’s 
quavering voice thanked him, as Huambra lifted the bag 
and laid it across the one already on Sejama’s back. Sejama 
promptly sat down and spat. Huambra hustled the bag off 
at once. Sejama sat there with his nose in the air. A llama 
will carry so many pounds. If more is put on, be acts just 
the way Sejama was acting. 

“Get up, Sejama! You are lying across the street, the 
people cannot pass! Sec, the bag is off. Get up, please! 
Please!” 


14 



Huambra was very much excited, for a man in an auto¬ 
mobile was honking his horn and shouting angrily, “Get 
that llama out of the way! How can I get by with that ani¬ 
mal blocking the street! Hurry! Be quick about it!” 

Sejama’s nose went a bit higher. He did not move. 

A street car, pulled by two mules, was now behind the 
automobile. The driver climbed down and joined the crowd 
about Sejama. 

“Lift him out of the way! We are in a hurry, hear me? 
Push the llama out of the way so we can get by!” he de' 
manded, his black eyes flashing. 


15 



Huambra was almost in tears. “The llama will not go. 
He is very angry. I cannot push him off, Senor. He is too 
heavy.” The old Indian knelt down, put his arms around 
Sejama's neck and pleaded, “Be nice and get up. Huambra 
will not do it again. Do not be cross. Be a good llama and 
stand up. No? Tunca is playing his flute for you. Hear it? 
It is pretty music. Be a nice llama and stand up.” 

Even though they had taken off the extra bag, Sejama 
was so angry because they had dared put it on, he sat there 


16 






“Be nice and get up. Huambra will not do it again." 






















not looking at them, his nose twitching with indignation. 

For ten minutes Sejama sat quite still, with the automo¬ 
bile horns honking, the street car bells jangling, men shout' 
ing to Huambra to get his llama out of the way, Huambra 
pleading and the flute playing. Many people were laughing. 

Huki bad never been with the pack train before, so it 
was the first time he had ever seen anything like this. He was 
having a fine time, when suddenly he began thinking of the 
llama'marking. What would they do to him when they 
arrived at the llama'marking field? He would not let them 
put tassels in his ears and a pack on bis back. Fat Chupi and 
the other young llamas would not mind. They wanted to 
grow up. But not Huki. He bad been watching for a chance 
to run away. Perhaps he could do it now. 

Sejama was at last getting to his feet. A great shout went 
up from the crowd. Majestically the llama rose, then walked 
slowly over to the pack train. 

The crowd was watching Sejama, so no one saw Huki 
slip around the corner of the street and run as fast as his 
long legs could carry him. 










Chapter II 
HUKI ESCAPES 

Huki kept glancing back. An old Indian, whom he did 
not know, thought he was running away and started after 
him. 

The little llama raced around another corner, ran 
through a stone archway and found himself in a lovely 
patio. 


19 







He stood there panting and looking about him. There 
was a fountain, and there were trees and flowers. Best of all, 
three young girls and two boys were playing nearby. 

“Ob, Felica, look! Look who has come to your party!” 
A little girl in a pink silk dress came running toward him. 

Felica, who had brown curls, came running too. Her 
other guests followed her. They were all so surprised and 
happy that this strange little llama had come to visit them 
that soon they were all patting and hugging Huki. 

“Mother! Mother!” Felica called. “Please come and see 
our little guest. Hurry, Mother! Hurry!” 

A very beautiful woman came out on the broad corridor 
which surrounded the patio. “A little white llama. How 
very nice. Where did he come from, dear?” 

Before Felica could reply, Carlos Gonzales explained ex¬ 
citedly, “We do not know, Senota. He is frightened. Per¬ 
haps his master beat him and he ran away.” 

“May I keep him. Mother? May I? Please, Mother?” 
Felica asked eagerly. “We must not let his cruel master have 
him. Give him to me for a birthday gift? Please, Mother?” 

Senora Castillo came down the lily- and fuchsia- 
bordered path to the little group. “My dear, we must not 
keep what does not belong to us. Play with him this after- 


20 



He stood there panting and looking about him 













noon, if you like. When your father returns, he shall find the 
owner. Who knows, we may be able to buy him!” 

Felica clapped her hands and jumped up and down. 
“Oh, gracias, Mother! I love you much for saying that. 
Rosetta, Elana, Carlos, Jose, we will play with him now. 
Come on!” 

“I’ll shut the big gate, so his cruel master cannot look in 
here and see him,” Jose said, closing the gate with a bang, 
and fastening it with a wooden bolt. 

The mention of his cruel master made them all love and 
love Huki again. And Huki, who had never been beaten in 
all bis life, liked the petting so much that be put down 
his bead and tried to appear very forlorn and sad. If they 
knew he had run away from a very kind master, they might 
shoo him out of there as quick as scat. This was a fine place. 
He wanted to stay here forever. 

“I think the little llama would like to see us dance,” 
Rosetta said. “Let us sing and dance the Jungle Fait. Shall 
we?” 

“Oh, yes, yes,” Felica said gaily. “Come on, you little 
white llama. I’ll take you over to the rose arbor and we shall 
dance and sing for you.” 

Huki stood under the arbor looking and looking. He 


22 



He tried to look very forlorn and sad 




had never seen such a beautiful place as this garden^ And he 
had never seen such beautiful children* All the girls and 
boys that he knew were Indians* The Indian children 
dressed like their mothers and fathers* The girls wore pan- 
cake hats, long, full skirts, and mantas or cloaks* The boys 
wore heavy trousers, coats, and ponchos* These little girls 
bad on pink and white silk dresses, dainty socks and slippers, 
and flowers were twined in their long curls* The boys wore 
knee pants, white collars and very shiny shoes* 

They had formed a circle and were holding hands* As 
they danced, they sang: 

'‘Come to the jungle fair-o, 

All the world is there-o! 

See every one arrives on a run 
The frolic and fun to share-o. 

Nor is a band denied them 
Birdies with beasts beside them. 

Sly Master Fox, with tapping and knocks, 

Conducts from a box to guide them. 

Gaily the jaguarro. 

Thrums on his light guitar-o. 

Clear through the air, it sounds everywhere, 

To banish all care and sorrow. 

Gay little birds are humming, 

Monkeys their banjos strumming, 

Viols and lutes and shrill piping flutes 
And wild jungle beasts a-drumming.*' 


24 



Huki stood under the arbor looking and looking 



They danced and danced, played another game, then a 
maid brought refreshments. They had ice cream and little 
cakes and fruit punch. 

The little llama must have something too. Felica said 
to the maid, “Manuela, please bring a gourd of chichi —fruit 
punch.” 

“No, no, Sehocita” Manuela said. “It will make the 
little llama very sick. Llamas do not drink chichi." 

“It can’t make him ill, Manuela. It is so very good,’’ 
Felica insisted. “Mother has gone. But she won’t mind. 
Please Manuela, do as I say.’’ 

So Manuela did, grumbling as she brought it. 

Huki was thirsty. He drank all of the punch very fast. 
Felica and the other children begged Manuela to bring more. 
Huki drank three large gourds of the chichi. Then he lay 
down under the arbor and felt very happy and peaceful and 
safe. 

But he did not feel happy very long. His stomach began 
to pain him. Felica and her guests were playing again, so 
they did not notice the llama. 

“Here is Father!’’ Felica cried. “Come and see our little 
guest. I want him for a birthday gift. Father. May I have 
him? May I?” 


26 



He drank all of the juice very fast 





Holding his hand, Fclica hurried him over to Hiiki. 

Huki tried to struggle to his feet to show the Senor what 
a lively, pretty llama he was. But he could not get even half¬ 
way up. He lay down again, grunting like everything. 

“So this is your unexpected guest, Felica,” Senor Castillo 
went on in a troubled voice. “He is ill, very ill. What has 
happened to him?” 

There was silence for a moment. Then Felica said in a 
low voice, “Perhaps it was the chichi I gave him to drink.” 

“Chichi/” Her father laughed. “Of course, that is what 
has made him ill. He has the stomach ache. Poor little llama. 
Your birthday party was too much for him, Felica. But he 
will be all right in the morning.” 

Huki was well long before morning. All night he lay 
in the moonlit patio, listening to the sound of the water in 
the fountain and smelling the fragrance of roses and lilies 
and fuchsias. This was a very beautiful place and the little 
girl and her parents were as kind as they could be. 

But Huki did not wish to stay. It was not exciting 
enough for him. As soon as he found that gate open, he 
would skip out. Adventure and fun, that’s what he wanted. 
He trotted over to the hig gate and lay down, waiting for a 
chance to make his escape. 


28 








Chapter III 

A TERRIFIC FIGHT 


At six o’clock the next morning, old Pedro came shuf¬ 
fling down the driveway and opened the iron gate to let in 
Maria, the cook. Like a flash, Huki went hy her, nearly 
knocking the poor fat woman over. 

“Caramha—Mercy! He’s running away!” Pedro shout' 
ed, hurrying out on the sidewalk. He was just in time to 
see Huki’s little bobtail disappear around the corner. “What 
will little missy say!” Pedro wailed. “What will little missy 
say!” 


30 













“Caramba — Mercy! He’s running away!” Pedro shouted 





Maria was standing there breathing hard. “I say too— 
Caramba! He knocked the wind out of me. Let him go.” 

Down the street Huki went, kicking up bis heels, be' 
cause he was so happy to be out of the patio. No more going 
through gateways for him. He went through the market, 
where Indian men and women were already sitting on the 
ground with their frozen potatoes, woven blankets, and 
ponchos and other merchandise, arranged neatly on blankets 
before them. Then he headed for the mountains. 

He did not happen to take the north road, the one he had 
followed down from the mountains. Instead he went south' 
east, following a narrow, little'Used trail which went up a 
very wild and high mountain. Here he struck out into the 
forest, not stopping until he found himself in a wide ravine. 
He was now so far away he felt sure no one could find him. 

Scrub pine and bushes and rocks and boulders do not 
make much of a forest. But to Huki it was a wonderful 
place, particularly so because all around him were steep 
cliffs. If there was anything Huki enjoyed, it was to climb. 
Like all llamas, he was so sure'footed that he could scamper 
over rocks like a goat. 

For the first time in his life, he was alone. It was a 
glorious feeling. He could do anything he liked. Kicking up 


32 



• I 

k 

I 


Then he headed for the mountains 


I 


I 








his heels, he started off through the woods to see what fun 
he could have. 

A white rabbit scurried from under a bush. Huki 
promptly chased it. He would not hurt anything. But the 
rabbit did not know that and he raced along at top speed 
through the woods, with Huki after him. Again and again 
the smart old rabbit ran in wide circles, getting nearer and 
nearer to his place of safety. Then, perhaps laughing at 
Huki, he disappeared into a hole in the ground. 

That was heaps of fun, thought Huki. Now what? 

He trotted down to a little stream where he got a drink. 
Over to the right there was a movement in the bushes. Huki 
stood motionless watching the place. The bushes were 
shaking again. He was stepping very quietly toward them 
when a small dark animal hurried from one bush to another. 
Then it ran a little way down through the woods. 

In high glee, Huki went after it. His legs flew over the 
ground. He stopped quite suddenly, nearly landing on his 
nose. For the animal was not running any more. It was 
standing in a clearing, waiting for him and watching him 
with its sharp, beady eyes. 

It was black, about the size of a cat, was striped with 
white and had a busby tail. A skunk! Huki knew what 


34 



It was black, about the size of a cat. A skunk! 




would happen to him if he got too close to that animal. He 
backed away. Then be turned and scampered up the moun¬ 
tain, thankful that the skunk did not know enough to 
chase him. 

All afternoon he played. When darkness came, he was 
not afraid. He loved this forest. It was a nice, friendly place. 
Certain that there were no wild animals about to hurt him, 
he lay down close to a pine tree and slept. 

No wild animals in those woods to hurt him? The 
next morning, Huki found to bis sorrow he was very much 
mistaken. 

He had gone up the mountain to a place where there was 
much ychu grass and he was eating quietly, when his keen 
ears heard a noise. 

He raised his head, listened, then glanced behind him. 
Creeping toward him was a mountain lion, the enemy of all 
llamas. 

For a second, Huki was too frightened to move. Then 
he started to run. With great leaps, the lion was after him. 
Up the mountain Huki went, climbing higher and higher. 
The lion was close to him now. He sprang, but missed Huki 
by only a few inches. 

Huki saw a ledge. If he could reach that he might be 


36 



Creeping toward him was a mountain lion, the enemy 
of all llamas 



safe. Could he get there in time? He could hear the lion 
getting nearer and nearer. Just as he was about to spring, 
Huki scrambled up the steep cliff and was on his place of 
refuge. 

The lion started up the path. It was too narrow for 
him. He could not make it. He went around to the other 
side, but the ledge ended abruptly. Well, if he could not 
climb up to the ledge, he would try to get the llama some 
other way. The lion was hungry. This little white llama 
would make a good meal. 

Standing on his hind feet he attempted to reach Huki 
with his sharp claws. Huki's brown eyes were full of terror, 
as he hugged the wall. Straight above him was sheer rock, 
with a precipice on either side. There was no place for him 
to run. He would have to stay there where the lion was sure 
to get him. 

Again, the lion tried to reach Huki with his claws. This 
time he caught Huki’s right leg. Huki kicked, his little hoof 
giving the lion a sharp hit on his nose. Snarling, the beast 
stuck his claws deeper into Huki’s leg. Again, Huki kicked. 
The lion held fast and gave a sharp pull. Huki slid off the 
ledge, landing on his side. 

Snarling and growling, the lion pounced on him. Huki 


38 



This time he caught Huki^s right leg 




gave a pitiful little moan, as the lion bit flesh from his leg. 
They were so close to the edge of the precipice that with the 
little llama kicking and struggling, over they both went, 
landing in bushes far below. 

For a long while, Huki lay there stunned. Then he 
began to remember what happened. He raised his head, his 
frightened, brown eyes searching for the lion. There he was. 
lying over there in the bushes! 

Frantic with fear, Huki struggled to his feet and went 
limping down the trail. 




Chapter IV 

MARCA AND CHUPI 

The wound on Huki’s leg was so painful that he could 
scarcely walk, and the fall had bruised every part of his 
body. He kept glancing back, expecting every minute to 
see the lion coming after him. He did not know what to do 
or where to go. 

Around the bend of the trail appeared a young girl. 
She was a rosy-cheeked Quichua Indian girl, wearing a 


41 


pancake hat, a very full, bright red woolen skirt, a white 
blouse, and a gay, heavy shawl. 

She was so astonished to see a strange llama in this out- 
of-the-way place that she stopped and stared for a minute. 
Then she ran toward him, saying in her Indian language, 
“You poor little httahua —little llama. What has happened 
to you? Chupi, quick!” she called. “A young llama is here, 
and he’s hurt!” 

“And here is a dead lion, Marca!” a boy’s voice an¬ 
swered. “They have had a fight and have fallen off the 
cliff. Is the llama near dead?” 

“No, but his leg is torn. Hurry, Chupi!” 

Marca was loving and petting Huki when her brother 
came running up. “The lion has broken his neck, and the 
bushes saved the little llama. I’ll look at his leg. Yes, this 
bite was made by the lion,” he said, examining it. “I’ll get 
coca leaves. They will take away the pain.” 

As Huki’s perky ears had been pierced, Marca and Chupi 
knew that he was lost from a herd some one was taking 
down to the llama-marking. Their parents were down 
there with their animals. The children would keep Huki 
until they returned. They would know who had lost a 
young llama. 


42 



“You poor little llama. What has happened to you?" 







Very gently Marca led Huki down the trail to their 
grass-thatched adobe hut. The boy crushed coca leaves, 
made a paste of them, then held them against Huki’s sore 
leg. Meanwhile Marca bandaged it with a strip of white 
cloth. 

Huki lay in the doorway of the hut and watched little 
Marca working inside. In a kettle which stood on legs over 
a fire, she was boiling meat, frozen potatoes and hominy. 
She was making charito, a stew Quichua Indians have every 
day. 

When the charito was ready, Marca said, “The little 
white llama must come in and eat with us. Chupi, run out 
and get some ychu grass and a little corn.” 

“Si, si, he must eat with us,” Chupi said earnestly. “We 
will take very good care of him until we find his master.” 

Chupi got food for Huki, then led him into the one- 
room hut. 

“No, no, not so close to the fire, Chupi,” Marca laughed. 
“Now lie down, little fellow.” 

Although Huki’s leg was still paining him, he lay there 
very, very happy. The hut was not as lovely as the patio 
in Cuzco, for there were no roses, or other flowers. But. 
there were many things Huki bad seen again and again in 
Huambra’s hut, so it was like home to him. 


44 



Huki lay in the doorway of the hut and watched 
little Marca working inside 







There was no furniture at all in the room. Around it 
was a broad shelf, about two feet from the floor. This 
shelf was used as a bunk to sleep on, as a table to eat on, 
and as a place for the family to sit and do their spinning 
and weaving. The walls were gay with red and black 
mantas, blankets, ponchos, skirts, and other garments woven 
from the wool of the llama. Dried pumpkins, squash, and 
corn hung from the ceiling. In one corner of the room was 
a pile of wool, and near by a weaving frame and spindle. 


46 














































Part of the day Huki slept in the bright sunshine out¬ 
side the hut. At night be was brought inside. 

He was feeling so much better the next morning that 
the children began playing with him. He loved to be fussed 
over, so did not mind having them put tassels in bis ears. 
They did not use their own color of blue. That would not 
be honest, for it would show that this little fellow belonged 
to them. They made tassels out of yellow and black and 
red yarn, and bung three long ones in both of Huki’s ears. 

Chupi then slipped a narrow leather strap through the 
handles of two shiny bells and fastened it around Huki's 
neck. The children then decorated the strap with bright 
wool flowers, until Huki looked as though he were wearing 
a garland of many blossoms. 

Huki liked Marca and Chupi very much, but he was 
homesick for his master, Huambra. Huambra was some¬ 
where down near Cuzco. Huki would search for him. So 
the next day when Marca and Chupi had gone to the spring 
to get a supply of water, the little lame llama left the 
Indian hut. 




Chapter V 

RED TASSELS FOR HUKI 
When Huki reached the hroad trail, he was fortunate 
enough to turn in the right direction, the way which would 
take him to Cuzco. 


The trail wound up and over the mountain, until at 
last he was on the other side. Down in the valley helow 
was the city of Cuzco, with its pink and blue and white 
stone houses, and in a field to the left were hundreds of 


49 



llamas and men and women. This was the llama-marking 
place. 

Sejama was there, and Huambra and the helpers and 
Chupi, the leader, and the other llamas. As fast as his lame 
leg could carry him, Huki hurried down the steep path, 
skirted the city and made his way to the marking field. 

A black-eyed, fat, jolly Indian noticed him first. 

“Ho! Ho!” he laughed. “Look at the young llama com¬ 
ing! He is decorated with flowers, like a saint!” 

A woman called, “He is lame, Piriu. Do not laugh. He 
is hurt. Whose llama is he?” 

A crowd gathered round Huki, laughing and petting 
the little fellow. No one knew to whom he belonged. Huki 
stood quietly, his great brown eyes searching anxiously 
for Huambra. But no Huambra could he see. This was not 
the right place. Where should Huki look for him now? 

“I'll find who owns him,” Piriu was saying. Holding 
fast to Huki’s collar, old Piriu went through the crowd, 
calling in a loud voice, ‘Who has lost a llama? Who has 
lost a llama?” 

Huambra, who was busy marking one of bis animals 
with a red tassel, turned to see what Piriu was shouting 
about. Then he saw Huki. 


50 



is lamey Pirin. Do not laugh^^ 









“Where did you find him?” he called, running over to 
them. “Oh, Huki, we have hunted and hunted for you! 
Where did you come from? I’m so happy to see you!” He 
put his arms around Huki and hugged and hugged him. 
“My Huki is all decorated. Who dressed you so prettily? 
But what is wrong with your leg? Let me look at it. A 
lion hit you!” he said, as though he could scarcely believe 
his eyes, "A lion bit you, and you got away from him.” 


52 



“Where did you find him?" he called, running over to them 




Piriu held up a tawny hair he had found on Huki’s hack. 

“And here is a lion’s hair!” he said, holding it high so 
all might see. 

There was a great shout from the crowd. Huki had 
escaped from a lion. It was something no grown-up llama 
had ever done. Little white Huki had fought a lion and 
made his escape. Huki was a hero! 

The crowd was about to start the famous llama-mark¬ 
ing dance, the htxayno. Piriu called, “We will dance around 
Huki. Huki got away from a lion. Beat your drums. 
Play your quenas —flutes! Let us dance now!” 

Two Indians began beating their big drums, and the 
people not already there came running across the field. 

Besides having on all their bright holiday clothes which 
they had worn down to Cuzco, the women were bedecked 
with gay bead necklaces, silver bangles on their arms and 
long earrings. The men were strutting in all their finery 
and were also wearing earrings and bangles. 

Although mules are sometimes used as pack animals, 
llamas are the chief freight carriers across the Andes. The 
Indians love their llamas very, very much, and are grateful 
to these beautiful animals for all they have done and are 
doing for them. So after each llama-marking, they give 


54 


f 




I 


‘^And here is a lion’s hair!” he said, holding it high 









this dance in their honor. But the dance today was especially 
for Huki. 

Soon flutes were playing and drums were beating. The 
men and women, waving red and yellow and green mantas 
and ponchos, were dancing around Huki, laughing and 
shouting, “Huki! Huki! He got away from el lion —the 
lion! He got away from el lion! Huki got away from 
el lion! Huki! Huki!” 

Huki knew his name, and the word el lion, so guessed 
correctly that they were dancing around him because he 
had escaped from a lion. He was thinking how they would 
laugh if they knew he had kicked that old lion right smack 
on the nose. He stood very straight. He had kicked a lion 
on its nose. Wouldn’t they laugh and wouldn’t they be 
proud of him if they knew that. 


56 



The men and women were dancing around Huki 



The music was becoming louder and louder. The men 
had thrown their ponchos about their shoulders and all had 
taken red and yellow slings from their pockets. As they 
danced, slings and mantas were held up by the dancers in 
couples, and were woven in and out, somewhat like rib¬ 
bons at a Maypole dance. 

Then the men whirled their slings and went through 
the motion of throwing stones. The women who repre¬ 
sented the llamas, covered their heads in mock terror, 
dropped to their knees, spread their mantas on the ground 
and tearing off their necklaces, threw them on the square 
cloth. With cries of triumph, the men circled around, tossed 
their slings over the beads of the women, picked up the neck¬ 
laces, and replaced them on their captives’ necks. Then 
waving their gorgeous colored ponchos, they danced and 
danced, until they were so out of breath they could not 
dance any more. 

Huambra put his arm about Huki. “You wait here. 
You stand here a few minutes, Huki. I’ll not be gone long.” 

Huki saw him tun across the field, then come hurrying 
back with a beautifully embroidered pad and a small bag. 

Huki’s heart sank. He had been so homesick to see 
Huambra, he had forgotten what they would do to him 
when he arrived at the llama-marking field. 


58 



Huki saw him hurrying hack with a beautifully embroidered 
pad and a small bag 



He stood very still when Huambra very carefully placed 
the pad across his back. Then he turned his head, bis brown 
eyes watching his master. 

Huambra was holding the bag in bis arms and saying 
softly, “You will like it, Huki. See, it is not heavy. Be a 
good boy. Do not kick!” 

Huki moved uneasily when he felt the weight upon him. 
Suddenly his head went up and he looked straight before 
him. He was thinking proudly, “Why, I’m a big fellow 
now! A big boy!” 

Huambra laughed and patted him. “You do like it, my 
nice, little white llama. Good boy, you are. Very good boy. 
See what I am going to do now.” 

He pulled several pieces of red wool yarn from his 
pocket and soon Huki had his master's red tassels dangling 
beside the gay ones already in his perky ears. 

With his pudgy fingers, old fat Piriu jiggled those in 
Huki’s right ear. “Ho! Ho!” he laughed. “You are a funny¬ 
looking little llama. You are so funny you make me laugh!” 

“He is not funny. He is a pretty llama.” Huambra’s 
black eyes twinkled. “And he is smart. He fought a lion. 
As soon as we have the fireworks, we will start for home. 
And Piriu, because Huki is a hero and has bells on, he shall 
lead the pack train to the top of the mountain.” 


60 



‘‘You do like it, my nice little white llarm^ 




Piriu quit his fooling. “You are right, Huambra. Huki 
is not funny-looking. He is pretty. And be is the smartest 
llama I ever did see. He should lead the pack train. And 
I am glad he is decorated like a saint, for no other llama 
has ever fought a lion and lived. Look, the fireworks have 
started!’’ 

The bang, bang of the fireworks made Huki jump at 
first, but soon he was enjoying the noise and excitement as 
much as the Indians. 

At last everyone made ready to go home. When Huam¬ 
bra’s long pack train left the field, he thought it was the 
most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Instead of only 
twenty-five llamas, there were now fifty, all with red tassels 
in their ears and packs on their backs, all walking single file. 
Huki was limping along with his gay tassels and garlands 
of flowers, gallantly leading the procession. 

Huki was so happy that it was all he could do not to 
kick up his heels. “I must not do that,” he was thinking. 
“I shall wait until I am home and the pack is off my back.” 
But he was so full of joy he had to do something. So he 
shook and shook bis head, making the two silver bells jingle 
and jingle. 


62 





Huki was limping along, gallantly leading the procession 







































































